No More Formal Degree Required To Hire Potential Talent

A few weeks ago, I posted to know about a trending issue in the IT Industry, ‘’Do we really hire talent based on degree?’’ I received excellent response on my post and gained lots of insights from HR professionals and others. Based on this response, my research and over 10 years of experience in Human Resource, primarily in the technology sector I can conclude that when hiring the best candidate for a job, their degrees no longer matter.

This is a disruptive insight and will completely change how HR works in this decade.

However, a lot of professionals disagree and are skeptical about such statements and for good reason. Traditionally, the starting point of HR when hunting talent has been their education and academic achievements. 16 years of education (aka a Bachelor’s degree) is a norm. So, when someone says that degrees are not needed, what do we do? Where do we start? How do we manage the entire talent lifecycle?

I agree. This will be a huge shift but major companies (like Apple and Google) are already making it and we should too to avoid being left with the wrong talent.

Where Do We Start?

Let’s start simple.

HR professionals can attest to the following scenario:

If a candidate has the right skills, a mindset of lifelong learning, and passion for their work but NO DEGREE, they can still create wonders. On the contrary, if a candidate has excellent educational track record with highest CGPA from a renowned tech or business school but has low skillset, shies away from taking bold risks, and lacks passion, then they will take you nowhere. 

The past decade has completely altered the role of HR professionals. Disruptive ideas and technologies have taken us by storm. Now creativity, lifelong learning, teamwork, execution and the ability to take bold risks are required traits in candidates.

However, since most HR departments still hold to conventional wisdom, the world is getting short of potential talent that are needed to keep organizations innovative. The fact is that many ingenious && crazy minds of our century do not have formal degrees for various reasons.

What is the one common characteristic shared by Steve Jobs, Mark ZukerBerg, Bill Gates, Rachael Ray, Coco Chanel, Richard Branson, Ansel Adams, Michael Dell, Dave Thomas, Rush Limbaugh, Henry Ford, Russell Simmons, Walt Disney and Steve Madden?

None of these amazing visionaries and tycoons had a college degree. They and many others have been successful because they followed the things they are passionate about, never stopped learning, easily leveraged others, and relentlessly executed on their ideas and ideals.

Their success had nothing to do with their “formal education”.

We’re Already Behind in the Race 

Silicon Valley has already concluded the debate on hiring without giving weight to a candidates degree.

They don’t need it. Apple and Google don’t need them. The unicorns won’t need it. And other companies and startups are following suite.

Why?

Silicon Valley realized that it’s facing a crisis in maintain a good pipeline of talent. Furthermore, that the talent pool is getting short day by day as more players are jumping into technology market. Since there is a dearth of creative risk takers and executers that can come up with bold and disruptive ideas that keeps the businesses afloat in the Valley. The right talent is a great competitive advantage, and a large pool of candidates with no degree but that have the right aptitude is the answer to their pipeline problem.

What’s more, technology industry is still in its infancy stage, and having the talent with the right mindset and the right skills are rare in market. And crazy geniuses that love their work are often rebels that don’t follow the usual education path that leads to a degree program.

The Fallacy of Relying on Formal Degrees as A Criteria

“When you look at people who don’t go to school and make their way in the world, those are exceptional human beings. And we should do everything we can to find those people.” ? Laszlo Bock, Google’s former SVP of People Operations.

There was a time when MNCs and big companies flocked to renowned institutions for headhunting and meeting their talent needs.

The idea was (and still is) that the gentry from these institutions is “prepared” to take on the challenges of the disruptive world we live in. But as companies are realizing, some of the best talent is not going to these institutions, or any degree program at all.

 With college tuition fees rising across the globe, many people don’t have the time or resource to get a college degree. Furthermore, as more people do what they love and earn through freelancing while gaining serious experience, they don’t need a degree. There are many companies that are offering high paying jobs to potential candidates with non-traditional education, even if they are college dropouts and diploma holders.

Breaking the Degree Barrier

“Academic qualifications will still be taken into account and indeed remain an important consideration when assessing candidates as a whole, but will no longer act as a barrier to getting a foot in the door.” ?Maggie Stilwell, Ernst & Young’s Managing Partner for Talent.

Companies across the globe are getting rid of their traditional wisdom. Some have completely stopped hiring people based on formal degree. Hilton and Google are two examples of companies who have identified that book smarts don’t necessarily equal strong work ethic, grit and talent.

Other companies include IBM, Git Hub, Starbuck, Apple, Bank of America, and many other have also followed suite.

IBM & Intel — A Case Study of the New Hiring Trends with Less Focus on Degree

In 2017, IBM's vice president of talent Joanna Daley said “We’re looking for people who have a real passion for technology’’ commenting on the fact that 15 percent of her company's U.S. hires don't have a four years degree. She said that instead of looking completely at candidates who went to college, IBM now looks at candidates who have hands-on experience via a coding boot camp or an industry-related vocational class.

IBM has also launched an initiative called “New-Collar Jobs.” The rationale behind this initiative is to look toward different applicant pools to find new talent. They consider applicants based on their skills set rather than taking educational background in to account. It includes applicants who don’t have four years degree but have excellent technical knowledge in other ways. “We’ve been very successful in hiring from [coding] bootcamps,” says Ladah, head of talent.

Then there is Intel.

Intel started headhunting for talent from other educational avenues too. There is one program in which undergraduate or diploma holders can be enrolled for short-term internship with the company.

Intel has also invested in CODE 2040, a program which aims to build pathways for minority youth to the technology space. The company has also stepped to get a foothold in high schools by funding initiatives to boost computer science curricula through a program called Next Generation of Native American Coders.

Similarly, GitHub has partnered with coding-focused enrichment programs like Operation Code, Hackbright, and Code Tenderloin.

“Through focused initiatives in education, investment, and internship programs for high school and community college students, our aim is to attract a diversified talent pool to technology careers like engineering and computer science,” says Danielle Brown, former Intel VP of human resources and chief diversity and inclusion officer, in a statement.

Final Thoughts — Mindsets Should Trump Skillsets

In short, companies are no longer seeking out new talent pools just because it’s the “right” thing to do but because they have to do it. Without the right talent in their pipeline their future is bleak.

With programs like IBM’s new-collar initiative and the partnerships at Intel and Github, we’re beginning to see the ways companies can begin to address talent issue.

In Pakistan companies like Gaditek are hiring talent based on mindsets and skillset rather than solely on formal degree. We hire talent based on their mindset, passion and culture fit. The entire hiring process is based mostly on cultural alignment, followed by skillset and is least focus on formal degree or CGPA. We have been doing that for over a decade now and I’ve been involved with leading the direction of the company’s talent strategy for well over 8 years.

I’m more than happy to be of service to anyone who wants to learn more about our system and processes. 

 So.

What’s your take on this trend? Should hiring based on formal degrees be abolished? Do you know of companies that are doing this in Pakistan or the world?

Name other companies who have shift their lens to hire talent without formal degree. If your company is focusing on hiring talent based on skills set do share details with us. If you need any help in designing Program like Intel, Git Hub and IBM, you can reach me for free advice.